Derek Fisher is the heart and soul of this team- Kobe(Black Mamba)When we win it, it's going to taste much sweeter knowing I played with the injury- Andrew(Lionheart)Tomorrow is another opportunity to accomplish great things- Pau(Pauwer)Ron Artest is the Game 7 MVP- Phil(Zen Master)Q:Pierce says series isn't coming back to LA? A: [Mean Stare]- Derek(President)If we don't win the championship, it's my fault- Ron(Tru Warier)

Bynum was simply unstoppable in the first quarter. He set the early tone for this Laker team victory.

Derek Fisher is the heart and soul of this team- Kobe(Black Mamba)When we win it, it's going to taste much sweeter knowing I played with the injury- Andrew(Lionheart)Tomorrow is another opportunity to accomplish great things- Pau(Pauwer)Ron Artest is the Game 7 MVP- Phil(Zen Master)Q:Pierce says series isn't coming back to LA? A: [Mean Stare]- Derek(President)If we don't win the championship, it's my fault- Ron(Tru Warier)

"The Kid" is just becoming a force down low. He's regularly seeing double teams now. If he learns how to survey the field when the double comes and find the open man, he could make our team so much better.

Is there ANY doubt that if you featured this guy, he would be a 25/12 guy? I mean ANY doubt? I think without Gasol in the lineup, he's a 20/10 guy this year. And that's with Kobe. Imagine if he was featured?

Most teams consider going to the playoffs a success. Other teams hang up banners of division and conference titles on their stadium walls. In Laker Land, it's championship or bust. If we were to hang up every division/conference title we won, there wouldn't be enough room on the walls of Staples Center.

^ I agree. I think when Pau takes his break and Andrew is on the court, Farmar and Brown should look for him more. There is a problem. Farmar is in a contract year and is more worried about showcaseing himself. As good a player as Brown is, he's certainly one that looks more for himself than others. We just need a young defensive minded PASS FIRST point guard. Put that on the court with Luke Walton, and give Andrew the green light when Pau sits down. We know what Kobe can do. By featuring Andrew more and doing this, it will raise his confidence level, and only help us more in the future.

Well, if he was "featured" he would be slightly easier to defend. Now the teams have to pay attention to Pau close to the basket, Artest on the perimeter and Kobe pretty much anywhere on the court. It's difficult.

With that said, there is no doubt that Bynum is extremely talented. If he just works on his defensive awareness some more, he'll truly become a force on both ends of the floor. He still likes the offense more. Perhaps that's normal for most young players.

"It's not realistic to get younger and better when you only have the veteran's minimum to offer free agents."

If he ever became as consistent on the defensive end, as he does on the offensive end, I think he could even pass Dwight as top center in the league. Dwight pales in comparison to Andrew with his footwork, and overall offense. However, Dwight is LIGHT YEARS better on the defensive end that Drew.

I think this is one of the few times when Bynum and Pau were working together well. If you noticed at the start of the game, they just about took turns in the post every trip down. Pau was struggling a little bit, but because they were feeding Bynum basically the same amount of times he was playing effectively and they didn't lose a step inside.

Tower 1 and Tower 2 both co-existed last night. Tower 3 had operational difficulties. It is difficult to keep both main bigs in the game without some sacrifice off one. Then again, if the guards and wings kept them BOTH involved it wouldn't be much of an issue. Each can take turns abusing their defenders on the low block.

Fisher and Brown have no problem dumping the rock in the paint. Heck, even Vujacic is now passing up shots to move the ball in the perimeter or look inside. Who's left? Farmar...who tends to dribble too much at times. There's only one player on the squad who has license not too if he wants to make a play or take over and that is 24.

The most important reason why Bynum is so effective in offense, is the same reason why Pau and Kobe are also.

Because they play together.

When Kobe and Pau were the 1st and only real option on their teams, they had to carry their team. Kobe mostly with his scoring ( 30+ ppg says so ) and Pau with his post play, bringing defender to the double team and taking the ball outside to his shooters ( 4.5 apg, a big man ).

I would love to see what Bynum does against a double team without Pau and/or Kobe.

And, for the record, i have nothing against Bynum, but his fans are too mucho for me.

Bynum isn't bad at passing out of those post, but he's hardly ever hard doubled so he doesn't have to that much. I mean if he's almost always single covered and he can't really be stopped that way why shouldn't he just go to work? I'd rather have Drew shoothing from 2 feet single covered than some of our guys shooting a wide open 3(Farmar). He is pretty good about finding the open man though, sometimes he and Pau even pass to each other really well down low.

If it's hard to pass Farmar, remember when Lakers starting five had 2 D-League players ( smush, brown ) or some of Pau's teams in Memphis.

I mean, it's not that easy. When a player scores 16 ppg in the Lakers in a starting five with maybe 2 HOF, Fisher and 2 AllStars it's because he is very good player. But taking that 3rd option and making it a 1st option doesn't always means he is going to have 20/10. Someone said he would make Toronto a contender in the East just swaping him with Bosh. A contender ! Right away !

And btw, what would you prefer ? 5 rings and a 10-10 averages career or 25-15 and 0 rings ? What is the point to play and don't try to win ? How hard is to understand this is a team sport and you need 5 gives to win ?

I honestly don't get the point you're trying to make bystander, are you saying you want him to score less? Are you suggesting Drew is a selfish guy who'd rather put up 25ppg on a crappy team than less on a winner or that he doesn't care about the team because of what a fan said? Come on, what has Drew done really to suggest any of that? And as far as Smush goes, he had a horrible attitude and didn't play D, but he could certainly knock down the open 3, Farmar rarely can. And it's no knock on Pau, but he had some ok teammates from time to time. I think given the opportunity and time Drew could be the main guy on a team, we've seen him do a decent job carrying the offense a bit in a few games Kobe and Pau were out of.

Weezy wrote:Are you suggesting Drew is a selfish guy who'd rather put up 25ppg on a crappy team than less on a winner or that he doesn't care about the team because of what a fan said?

That's exactly what i think about him.

Weezy wrote:And it's no knock on Pau, but he had some ok teammates from time to time.

No he hadn't. I mean, he had a very selfish J-Will who wanted to be the top guy, Miller that only played well in RS and a young Battier and stop it. In 7 years. I watched Memphis play during the years and their best year it were a defensive team with Pau as PG on offense. But it doesn't matter. Kobe is better than Pau, Pau is better than Bynum.

Can AB could be better than any of the two ? Maybe, but he is far from there right now.

Yes, but it's not like being a Pau fan means automatically to dislike Drew. My problem is more with his fans. I say a lot of good things about him. But i also think he is in a selfish stage of his career where he looks more for himself than for the team. And my guess is there could be lakers die hard fans who could also share my opinion.

But in the end, the fact is i don't dislike Bynum. But sometimes this forum gets me. Bryant is God, Bynum has a pass for almost everything, Pau has some respect but people take him for granted, and the rest of the team are scrubs.

I might be a player fan, but i appreciate team basketball more than others "team" fans thare post around here and i dont say this for you.

Look, when you're 7'1", 285 lbs and have the length, touch, footwork, vertical and overall skills of this guy, you should EXPECT to be the center piece of a team. And i expect this to be the case when Kobe leaves. He, along with Gasol, will be the top 2 options. And when Gasol slows down, it will be Bynum's team.

If you have a guy like Shaq or Olajuwon, you don't tell them to play second fiddle. Because that does not cater to their true talent and potential. You ride their back and tell them to carry the load. And i think that's what Bynum expects and wants to do. And when he doesn't get that, i do think this kid gets discouraged at times. But he's only human and only 22 years old.

I'll tell you one thing, i wouldn't want to be facing this guy if he was with another team.

Most teams consider going to the playoffs a success. Other teams hang up banners of division and conference titles on their stadium walls. In Laker Land, it's championship or bust. If we were to hang up every division/conference title we won, there wouldn't be enough room on the walls of Staples Center.

bystander wrote:Yes, but it's not like being a Pau fan means automatically to dislike Drew. My problem is more with his fans. I say a lot of good things about him. But i also think he is in a selfish stage of his career where he looks more for himself than for the team. And my guess is there could be lakers die hard fans who could also share my opinion.

But in the end, the fact is i don't dislike Bynum. But sometimes this forum gets me. Bryant is God, Bynum has a pass for almost everything, Pau has some respect but people take him for granted, and the rest of the team are scrubs.

I might be a player fan, but i appreciate team basketball more than others "team" fans thare post around here and i dont say this for you.

Actually I think Kobe is taken more for granted than Pau is. And on top of that I think Bynum has been the source of more criticism than anyone not named Derek Fisher or Jordan Farmar (and Luke, but that's a given).

I understand what you are saying and I can see why you are frustrated that Pau doesn't seem to get the appreciation that Bynum does when the two perform similarly.

But you have to understand, these things have become common place for Pau. They are expected. Bynum is still 22 years old and when he performs to the level that Pau does it means great things for the future of the franchise and for the team as a whole.

Look, when you're 7'1", 285 lbs and have the length, touch, footwork, vertical and overall skills of this guy, you should EXPECT to be the center piece of a team. And i expect this to be the case when Kobe leaves. He, along with Gasol, will be the top 2 options. And when Gasol slows down, it will be Bynum's team.

I would love to. I will follow the logic that being a Pau fan i only care about him, so if Bynum developes into what you think he will be, then it's fine with me. Pau has proved he is the best 2nd option in the league, so it could mean more rings for him. It's just i think he, like Pau, lacks of that killer instinct that the ones as Bird, Kobe, Jordan, etc... had. Gasol didn't signed to be 1st option of this team in the future unless something "tragic" happens like career end injuries or things like that and nobody wants that S. He is the second one now for Kobe and in case Kobe left or retired before, when Bynum became the franchise player, if happens.

Actually I think Kobe is taken more for granted than Pau is. And on top of that I think Bynum has been the source of more criticism than anyone not named Derek Fisher or Jordan Farmar (and Luke, but that's a given).

I understand what you are saying and I can see why you are frustrated that Pau doesn't seem to get the appreciation that Bynum does when the two perform similarly.

But you have to understand, these things have become common place for Pau. They are expected. Bynum is still 22 years old and when he performs to the level that Pau does it means great things for the future of the franchise and for the team as a whole.

My frustrations with Drew have nothing to do with Pau, except that you can see how Pau with less can do more.

I agree with Kobe. But everybody get used to the good things very quickly.

Drew's fans are Laker fans, so you're pretty much just arguing against them. And to be honest, you ARE coming off as if being a Pau fan means disliking Drew. As if your mad he's taking touches away from Pau, or people even suggesting he could be a franchise player, when really who cares as long as we're winning? Unless of course you're a Pau first fan, in which case you're no different than the so called Drew fans. No Laker fans here are hating on Pau, and if some take him for granted who cares, real fans know his importance. I really don't get the Bynum hate though still, and the claims you've made about him with no proof, and I certainly haven't seen many here giviing him a pass for really bad games. If some have though it's probably because he's still young, he's not going to be getting a pass for immaturity in a few more years fom anyone. Also, I've been called a Kobe fanboy myself before, but who cares if it's not true? I'm not and I know it, I don't care if Kobe doesn't score a point as long as the Lakers win.

To be honest it sounds like you're jealous that Pau doesn't get the appreciation for the things he does. Especially when Bynum does something similar (or even a little less) and he gets a lot of praise from fans around here.

Again, you need to realize that Bynum is a 22 year old kid. If he can do the things that Pau can (an accomplished, world-wide star player), then he deserves some damn praise. If he can match or come close to Pau's production at his age, then things are looking great for the franchise.

Instead of being sour about the attention he gets, be happy that with his success comes the team's success.